Unwritten Rules Every Teacher Should Know

While knowledge, understanding, and acceptance of these hidden rules can empower new teachers, ignorance and misunderstandings can make unfamiliar professional duties even more difficult.

Featured Author:

Julia G. Thompson

Julia Thompson has been a public school teacher for more than thirty years. Thompson currently teaches in Fairfax County, Virginia, and is an active speaker, consultant, teacher trainer, and workshop presenter. Her most recent book, Discipline Survival Guide for the Secondary Teacher, Second Edition, written with busy high school teachers in mind, has just been released. Author of the best-selling The First-Year Teacher’s Survival Guide and The First-Year Teacher’s Checklist, she also publishes a Website (http:juliagthompson.com) offering tips for teachers on a variety of topics, maintains a Twitter account with daily advice for teachers at TeacherAdvice@Twitter.com, and a blog at http://juliagthompson.blogspot.com.

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Just as published rules are the values, attitudes, and expected behaviors that influence our actions, hidden rules also play a significant role in our professional lives. To the uninitiated, they are the unspoken expectations that can erode confidence when naïve teachers misread situations and are blindsided by their own ignorance.

An example of a hidden rule is a directive that appears in many faculty handbooks: “No food should leave the cafeteria. Students should not be permitted to eat or drink in classrooms.” While this directive may be stated in unarguable terms, it is frequently ignored by many teachers who allow water bottles or snacks in class.

Another hidden rule involves student dress codes. Even though a dress code may be published in various places for staff members, students, and their parents or guardians to read, actual enforcement varies from teacher to teacher. Some teachers follow the letter of the dress code, others follow the spirit, and still others don’t appear to notice student attire at all.

While knowledge, understanding, and acceptance of these hidden rules can empower new teachers, ignorance and misunderstandings can make unfamiliar professional duties even more difficult.

Currently, many teachers rely on these methods to learn about the hidden rules in their schools:

• Direct experience, both positive and negative
• Gossip and informal conversations with other teachers
• Mentors who can find time to help with this issue

The following helpful tips in each category below can insure teachers make good choices while remaining professional and increasing job security.